Birdman Tablet Back of the Birdman Tablet

The Birdman Tablet, approximately 4 inches high and 2 ½ inches wide, was found in excavations of the East Lobe of Monks Mound in 1971. This sandstone tablet depicts a man with a bird-like mask and winged costume in a dance pose, a common form of bird-man symbolism in the Mississippian culture. The reverse side of the Tablet is engraved with diagonal crosshatching, which may represent snake skin; thus, creatures of the Cahokian upper world, this world, and the lowerworld are united on this tablet, reflecting the Mississippian cosmology. This iconic image is the logo of Cahokia Mounds.